oven-roasted grape tomatoes

it’s not tomato “season” and if you’re buying fresh tomatoes these days, you’re probably not wow-ed by the taste of them. but if you want to cheat a little “summer” into your tomatoes, roasting them concentrates and intensifies the flavours. grape tomatoes, which like roma tomatoes are not too watery, are perfect for roasting. i’ve been splitting the tomatoes lengthwise, tossing them in extra virgin olive oil, salt and a little pepper, and roasting them on a foil-lined 4-sided sheet pan (the juices can run and burn so you need to contain them) for about an hour at 325 degrees. i end up with very tomato-y, bite-sized pieces that are not totally dried out. i throw them into a frittta, on a salad or into recipes that i might have used oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes–the flavour really is that intense. and then there’s the many that i throw directly from the pan into my mouth. i purposely make big batches to account for all of those.